Pine Needles
by ForeverDreamer12
Summary: When Master Makarov sent Team Natsu to go buy a Christmas Tree, he should have expected disaster... For EsteVamp4998's writing challenge #1. (Implied Gruvia and Nalu)


**This is a oneshot I wrote for ****EsteVamp4998****'s writing challenge #1! It's my first challenge, so I'm really excited :)**

**I hope you enjoy~!**

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><p><em>~Pine Needles~<em>

_-A Fairy Tail Oneshot-_

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><p>"Are we there yet?" groans a sickly Natsu for the fifth time that afternoon.<p>

"No, shut up!" Gray snaps. "If we were there, we would stop moving!"

"Cut him some slack, Gray," Lucy says, looking over at Natsu sympathetically. "He is sick, after all." Natsu weakly smiles at Lucy, obviously grateful. "So what exactly are we doing anyway, Erza?" the Celestial Wizard asks.

"Master wanted us to pick out the Christmas Tree for the Guild Hall this year," Erza responds, looking surprisingly calm as she says this.

Gray nearly chokes, "What?! Who's bright idea was it to send Lava Barf to pick out a tree?"

"I'll get you for that, you Icey-" Natsu suddenly gags, stopping himself mid-sentence.

"Anyway," Erza glares at the two boys before continuing, "I expect all of you to be on your best behavior, understood?"

"Aye," groans Natsu.

_'Why is she getting mad at me?'_ Lucy thinks. _'What have I ever done to even be on the same level of crazy as these guys?'_

"Natsu, look!" Happy cries, pointing out the window. "I can see the tree place!"

"No complaining," Erza says, seeing Gray and Lucy's faces. "This is the only place left we haven't been kicked out of and that isn't a hundred miles away."

"Uh...it looks a little...shady..." Lucy says nervously. They all pile out of the carriage, ignoring Natsu as he kisses the ground and praises the heavens. They make their way to the front gate, where a strange looking man with reindeer antlers is waiting behind a rusty cash register.

"Hello," Erza says crisply. "We are here to buy a tree."

The man looks like he just won the lottery. "Yes, yes! Of course! Yes! Go on! Happy Holidays!" He gets a few weird looks.

"All right!" Natsu cheers. "Let's start looking!"

"Aye sir!" With that, Natsu and Happy run off, leaving only dust behind them. Lucy coughs, dusting off her red sweater.

"Go make sure they don't burn anything!" Erza says to Lucy.

"Eh?!" cries Lucy, looking alarmed.

"Go!"

"I'm going!" Lucy shouts, running in the direction of the Dragon Slayer and Exceed. "Jeez, why do I always end up babysitting them?"

Meanwhile, Natsu is showing Happy a ten foot tall tree. "Look at this, buddy!"

"Wow! It's huuge!" Happy exclaims, flying to the very top. "It looks even better from up here!"

"Does it?" Natsu asks excitedly. "Then let's get this one!"

"What about this one?" Happy asks, flying over to a different tree. Natsu's eyes light up.

"Let's get that one!"

"But...you said that about the last one we just saw," Happy says, looking confused.

"Why can't we get both?!" Natsu grins. "And we can get this one too!" He points to a half-dead, lopsided tree that looks as if it were run over by a truck...five times.

"Um, Natsu..." Lucy says, walking up to the Dragon Slayer. "I don't know if that one's even for sale."

"Why wouldn't it be?!" Natsu frowns. "It's perfect!"

"To burn and throw in trash, maybe," Lucy sighs. Natsu's eyes shine with a mischievous glint just as Lucy realizes what she just said. Natsu's right hand bursts into flames, and he laughs maliciously. "No! Stop!" Lucy cries, grabbing his left arm. She tries with all her might to drag him away from the tree, but he keeps on leaning closer and closer.

Suddenly, Natsu shifts his weight too drastically, throwing both Lucy and Natsu off balance. Natsu's eyes widen as Lucy slams into him, knocking him backwards. The pair crash into the browning tree behind them, causing it to fall to the ground.

When the dust and pine needles settle, Natsu finds himself face-to-face with a very freaked out Lucy. "What's wrong, Luce?" he asks.

"Natsu?" she squeaks. Very slowly he looks back over his shoulder to see a flaming Christmas tree.

"Oh crap!" he shouts, realizing that the flames are dangerously close to him and Lucy. "Hold on, Lucy! I'll-" His sentence is cut off when he, Lucy, and the tree are suddenly drenched in water.

"Juvia saved your life, and thinks that Love Rival should repay Juvia by staying away from Gray," a familiar voice says.

"Juvia!" cries Lucy, looking up at the Rain Woman.

"What are you doing here?" Happy asks, floating down from his spot atop the tree.

"I followed my beloved Gray in hopes we could tree shop together~" Juvia sighs, a blush illuminating her face.

"Well, that's...creepy..." Natsu murmurs to Happy.

"Aye," Happy whispers.

"NATSU! LUCY! HAPPY!" roars an angry voice.

Natsu gulps, looking at Happy. "Erza!" they exclaim simultaneously, fear prominent in their voices. The S-Class Wizard marches over to the group, dragging a mostly-naked Gray with her.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she shouts. "This is the last place we have, and if we don't get a tree, Master will be furious!"

"S-Sorry..." stammers Lucy.

"And why are you on top of Natsu like that?" asks Gray. Lucy realizes that the position her and Natsu are in is very awkward indeed. She is practically lying on top of him, with her hands on his chest. Her face burns, turning redder than Erza's hair as she quickly leaps off of him.

"W-We fell!" she says frantically, trying to cover up her embarrassment. Erza raises an eyebrow, looking a bit less angry and a little more amused. Lucy looks ready to die of embarrassment.

Natsu slings an arm around her shoulder. "C'mon, cheer up, Luce! It's Christmas!"

Erza grabs a random tree and throws it over her shoulder. "We're getting out of here before someone makes us."

"Are we going to get punished?" Natsu asks in a small voice.

Erza sighs dramatically. "No..."

"ALL RIGHT!"

"But only because it's Christmas!" Erza adds.

To everyone's surprise, the man at the counter didn't seem to care at all that his tree was burned. In fact, he seemed more than willing to let them come back... Even stranger still, the tree cost quite a sum of jewel...

It was an understatement to say that Master was very angry when he found out Erza spent 15,000 jewel on a tree that was already half-dead.


End file.
